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Friday, August 10, 2012

Total Replay CC Archive


      Total Replay has correspondence master games including miscellaneous games, world championships and individual tournaments; cosstables are included.  Unfortunately the site has not been kept up to date and only contains games from 1998-2003.
       I did find some interesting games.  Between 1979 and 1986 an ICCF CC master named Mordechai Rechtman whose rating at one time was near 2450 played six correspondence games against Samuel Reshevsky, scoring +1 -2 =3.
       Rechtman, born May 16, 1926 - Wuppertal, Germany, is a renowned bassoonist, conductor, arranger, teacher and educator. Together with his parents he left Germany in 1933 and went to Israel in 1934. Between 1946 and 1991 he was principal bassoonist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He founded the "Israel Woodwind Quintet" in 1963 and the Philharmonic Woodwind Ensemble in 1976. Since 1985 and for many years on, he was the musical director and conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra Wind Ensemble.
       While pursuing his career as a bassoonist Rechtman spent much time writing transcriptions and arrangements for wind quintet, wind instruments and large wind ensembles. His unique talent as an arranger has been highly acclaimed. He recorded 6 CD's at the age of 75, and in 2006 at the age of 80, came out with a DVD recording which demonstrated his unique system of playing the bassoon.
       Rechtman has been Professor at the Rubin Academy of Music of Tel-Aviv University from 1969 until 2002, and as Guest Professor has taught in music schools such as the Juilliard School in New-York, the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, The Royal Academy of Music in London, and the Geneva Music Conservatory. During 1977 and 1978 he was Professor at the famous School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
      He was winner of the 2004 award of the Board of Trustees of the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Prize of Music Performances for his special contribution to music in Israel. In August 1994, he was unanimously elected Honorary Membership of the IDRS.
       As near as I can tell, Mr. Rechtman is still around and still playing correspondence chess.  The ICCF rating list showed him active as late as last year with a rating of 2206.

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